Public farewell for Margaret Mahy

Margaret Mahy's family will hold a public farewell for the much-loved children's writer this Wednesday in Christchurch.

The public farewell will be held at the Geodomes in Hagley Park on Wednesday from 2pm to 3.30pm.

"Family members realise that Margaret, through her life's work and her involvement in the community, has touched the lives of many people in Christchurch and around the country and around the world," the Christchurch City Council said in a statement.

The public service was a chance to gather to farewell Ms Mahy, who died aged 76 in Christchurch on Monday afternoon after a brief illness, the Council said.

Ms Mahy wrote more than 120 books which have been translated into 15 languages.

She has also won many of the world's premier children's book awards, including the Carnegie Medal and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

A Lion in the Meadow, published in 1969, started her international career and she became a full time writer in 1980.

The event on Wednesday would include performances from local school choirs, and reminiscences by friends.